More Than Bread

Send me a Text Message!We will miss the thriving life God has for us if we believe that the best way to find life is to avoid suffering at all costs. Isn't that James message in the first words of his letter to the scattered? See I wonder, if the question that people in  James' day were wrestling with was the same question we ask in hard times? Is God  good? Can I trust Him? If I say yes to God, is He going to mess up my life or give me life? And then we hear James says, “Count it pure joy when you run into trials and troubles." Welcome problems like a friend. Why in the world would we do this?  We would only do it if indeed hard times bring the good life.

Send me a Text Message!The bible talks so much about joy. It's all over Jesus' words just before the cross, in John 14-17. He talks about bringing joy as part of his overall purpose. Paul talks a lot about joy. And James leads with it in his letter to those who are scattered. It's almost like, joy is at the heart of God's plan for his people, his family. When James writes, "consider it pure joy when you face trials," it's almost like joy is in the non-optional category. It's almost like joy is a command. And if joy is a command, do you know what that means? It means joy must be a choice.Does it bother you a bit, when I say, "we can choose joy?" Regardless of our circumstances, our setting, our hard times, can I choose joy? 

Send me a Text Message!If I told you there was a way to experience pure joy, 100% pure joy, would you believe me? Would you ask me to show you the way? In 35 years of ministry, one of the most significant convictions, I've gained is that we have a deep, deep need forpure joy. The corollary conviction I've developed is that there is very little relationship between the circumstances of our lives and the joy of our souls. Avoiding suffering at all costs does not bring pure joy. Getting everything I want, when I want it does not create great overflowing resevoirs of joy. Comfort and control are not the source of glorious joy.So how do we find pure joy? That's what this episode starts discussing.

Send me a Text Message!I will explain in the next episode, but #10 and ( the first) #11 were one and the same deal. This is the real #11. Sorry! :)==================================The book of James is written, "To the Scattered..." They aren't just scattered from home, they're scattered from each other, and scattered from God. They've lost their way. There's sin in the camp, the rich are avoiding and even abusing the poor,there is little supernatural wonder, the word is not being received with meekness. They are judgmental and they've lost their passion for prayer.  They've lost their way. They are scattered. Maybe you feel scattered. Something has driven you off course. You've lost your way. This episode introduces who James is writing to... he's writing to the scattered!

Send me a Text Message!The book of James is written, "To the Scattered..." They aren't just scattered from home, they're scattered from each other, and scattered from God. They've lost their way. There's sin in the camp, the rich are avoiding and even abusing the poor,there is little supernatural wonder, the word is not being received with meekness. They are judgmental and they've lost their passion for prayer.  They've lost their way. They are scattered. Maybe you feel scattered. Something has driven you off course. You've lost your way. This episode introduces who James is writing to... he's writing to the scattered!

Send me a Text Message!As we dive into the book of James, let's start by asking, "What do you know about James?" The author of the book of James was James the brother of Jesus. So ask yourself, "What would it have been like to grow up as the brother of Jesus? How many times did James hear, "James why can't you just be a little more like your brother? Jesus never lies. Jesus always makes his bed. C'mon James, just ask yourself, wwybd. (What would your brother do?).James didn't even believe in Jesus until after Jesus' resurrection. But somewhere along the way, he became a man of prayer, a leader in the church, and someone with an amazing heart. This episode is all about James.

Send me a Text Message!What if God brough you to this episode, just so He can say one thing to you: "Don't quit! Don't give up! I'm not done yet." Your story isn't finished, because Jesus is the author of your by-faith story and He's not done yet! Let me ask you, will you let Jesus author your story? I love these words from Pete Greig"Even now, this Gallilean calls us by name to leave our nets, abandon small dreams of token empires, and follow him into the great unknown.  His vision for our lives is a treasure worth everything we own -- worth living for and dying for.  It's the vision for which we were born: created by God as a gift of love to his broken, beautiful world."Don't give up. He's not done yet!

Send me a Text Message!I used to say that the greatest opportunities we have for spiritual growth are to either go on a short-term mission trip, or go through a time of suffering. Which is a great advertisment for mission trips! Who wants to schedule in some suffering? But in the last 7+ years, I've added to those two, a third opportunity for catalytic spiritual growth; times of transition. I've found over and over again, that times of  transition are times when our faith can enter new seasons of growth. And what is it about mission trips, suffering and transitions that bring us to new seasons of faith? I think it's the uncertainty, the reminder that our control is merely a facade. So what if, when it comes to faith, uncertainty is actually your friend? 

Send me a Text Message!You see here's the deal...if you want to walk on the water, you have to get out of the boat. And here's what I can't get out of my mind; what I'm thinking is that I want your life to be filled with unforgettable walks.  I want your life to count, to mean something, to be significant. I want it to lead to something beyond fun, friends, a career, or even family. All those are good, great even, but I'm praying that you have some water-walking moments. I don't want you to settle for life in the boat. And what's your boat? That's what we'll talk about in this episode as I lay out four  four steps to an unforgettable walk!

Send me a Text Message!In this episode we are going to use the words of Jesus about prayer, the kind of prayer that matters, that gets answered... to ponder four essentials for prayer. We'll use the acronym PUSH to help us remember them.Pursue JesusUnderstand GraceSet a PlanHold FastDiving into this four prayer essentials will help us pray until something happens!

Send me a Text Message!Where do you need a break-through to greater things that will cause your life to thrive? Where do you need to shine a spotlight on the courage and compassion and the power and glory of Jesus; Jesus the Redeemer, the Restorer, the Lover of our Souls. If we don't pray like prayer is essential, it's because our hearts have not been grabbed by desperation for things that matter to us. But when desperation for things that matter grabs our hearts, we will pray like prayer is essential. We will pray like prayer matters. We will pray until something happens. We will PUSH in prayer. 

Send me a Text Message!This episode will be a bit different. Mostly scripture, less explanation. In the last episode we started unpacking the acronym PUSH; "Pray until something happens." If there is a passage filled with the words of Jesus calling us to persevere in prayer, to push when times are tough, it's gotta be the words that Jesus spoke to his followers just before he went to the cross. So I'm going to read those words, and make a comment or two. But mostly just read His words. So put yourself there, even now. You don't know it, but you are a handful of hours away from the crucifixion of Jesus. You are walking with him in the evening hours, through a vineyard, sort of a public park, and He is giving you your final instructions, think of it as a half-time talk before the second half of the greatest game you will ever play. And he starts with, "Do not let your heart be troubled." Listen to his words…

Send me a Text Message!So Jesus tells this story to teach a lesson about prayer.  It is the story of man who has a late night hospitality emergency.  Late night guests have come, but as He and his wife frantically search their cupboards for bread for a late night meal. It's midnight, no convience stores, the only possibility is the next door neighbor.  They always have plenty. So he goes next door...(Bang, Bang, Bang,) nothing...  (Bang, Bang, Bang). "Go away, comes the voice from inside."  "But friend...I need some bread." "Go away, the door is already locked, and my children are here with me in bed. I can't get up and give you anything."But the man in need doesn't go away. He keeps knocking, till finally, not because of friendship but because he is annoyinly persistent, the neighbor with plenty gets up and gives what is needed to the neighbor with nothing. This story teaches us about the power of persistant  prayer.  But don't miss the even greater truth. We are not God's needy neighbors, we're his kids.

Send me a Text Message!As quickly as time goes by, if you don't put your heart into the things that matter, you'll miss them! There is a request in Luke 11, for Jesus from a guy who had spent one-on-one time with Jesus, and I think the request is meant to point us to something that matters.  If you miss every other point I make in this episode, write these two down. 1)  If prayer matters this much to Jesus, I want it to matter to me.  So I'm going to start by asking, Jesus teach me that.  Teach me to pray.  Shape my heart so that prayer matters to me like it matters to you. 2) If I want to learn how to pray I need to learn everything I can from Jesus about  prayer. Jesus teach us to pray!

Send me a Text Message!Once when Jesus had been out praying, one of his disciples came to him as he finished and said, "Lord, teach us to pray..." They had been watching Jesus; front-row seats to watch the greatest pray-er who ever prayed. Jesus' habit was to rise early in the morning to talk with His Father.  In the evening He'd often go to the Mount of Olives or some other quiet spot to pray. And don't you suppose that the disciples noticed that when Jesus prayed stuff happened.  Seas calmed.  Dead people get alive.  Bread multiplies.  Wine created. Mountain-top experiences. Stuff like that ever happen when you pray? So it was perhaps understandable, that the only recorded time that the disciples asked Jesus to teach them anything, it was prayer. Teach us to pray!

Send me a Text Message!Our Lent series has carried along a minor theme of trusting God. The major theme was Jesus' last few weeks on earth, the crucifixion, the resurrection and the ascension, but the minor theme has been the question, "Can God be trusted?" I realize most of you listening, believe in Jesus, but do you believe Jesus? Do we trust what he says enough that when he says it, we do it? Do I trust him? I think it's impossible to find the thriving value of every word that comes from the mouth of God if we only listen and learn but never lean in. So this last episode simply asks that question one more time. Do I trust Jesus?

Send me a Text Message!I love to imagine that I was there, in the upper room, in those days right after Jesus went up home. But for a moment I'd like you to imagine you missed it. You weren't there. You didn't join the group. Got distracted. Got scared. Other things were more important. You missed it. What did they have to do in order to receive the promise? Just wait. Be there. 120 waited. They prayed. They didn't have to earn it.  They just had to be there, they just had to join in. See I know there are times when we are called to wrestle in prayer, to agonize in prayer, to battle in prayer. But sometimes, I also think that God just wants us to be there. He wants us to engage with others for Him. But imagine you missed it?  

Send me a Text Message!We celebrate the incarnation at Christmas, resurrection at Easter, but that's only 2/3's of the story at best. Where is Jesus now? After 40 days of post-resurrection, earth-walking, he went up...home. This is the ascension. Can I tell you why the ascension is so important? We need to know who Jesus is now, where Jesus is now, what Jesus is doing now. It's so important because what we need we can't get on our own. Who we need to become we can't become on our own. The ascension tells us that Jesus is who we need now! He not only understands our prayer, he hears our prayers. And he not only hears our prayers, he holds the key to all our prayer's answers, because He went up!

Send me a Text Message!One of Jesus' last words before going up home was the word, "Wait." Now everyone, at some intersection of life will have to learn to wait. Lewis Smedes writes: "Waiting is our destiny as creatures who cannot by themselves bring about what they hope for.  We wait in darkness for a flame we cannot light.  We wait in fear for a happy ending we cannot write.  We wait for a not yet that feels like a not ever.  Waiting is the hardest work of hope." Don't miss that. God's "wait" is a word of hope. When God says, "wait" He's promising you that there will be a tomorrow. God's "Wait!" is a promise of more. And so in this episode, I'm asking you to join me in asking Him...for more!

Send me a Text Message!Before Jesus left his team and went back to his Father in heaven, he gave them a cause, a calling, a great commission. Go and make disciples. Haddon Robinson once wrote, "Somewhere I must find a cause that is greater than myself that is worthy of my life." We deperately need to be committed.  Otherwise we have this awful sense that our lives don't count. We want our lives to count, so Christ offersus a cause.   In John 17:18, Jesus said, "In the same way that You gave Me a mission in the world, I give them a mission in the world."  Just like God sent Jesus on a mission, Jesus is sending us. That's our cause. I call it Grander-Mission Living! Do you have a cause that is worthy of your living and your dying?

Send me a Text Message!As we start to wrap up our Lent Series, we are looking at some moments in the 40 days between Jesus' resurrection and his ascension into heaven. One of those moments, was Peter's campfire encounter with Jesus. In the last episode we set it up with a reminder of Peter's betrayal and the Rooster's notification. In this episode, we're going to the campfire breakfast that Jesus had with Peter and some of his friends. But as we go to breakfast, don't forget that image I left with you. Jesus eyes from the cross, catching Peter's eyes in his denial. And the possibility that the way Jesus looked at Peter when the rooster crowed, was the same way Jesus looked at Peter before the rooster crowed; with love. What if in that glance, Jesus is looking forward to a moment on a beach and He's already imagining his sunrise invitation to...come have breakfast? Maybe it's your invitation too!

Send me a Text Message!At the very heart of this next story, a story that took place after the resurrection and before the ascension, is a breakfast with Jesus. It was a meal around a campfire and a moment of renewal between Peter and Jesus. I think you could say that Jesus never met a meal he didn't like. He just had this way of turning every table into sacred space, every meal into an encounter with God. Is it any wonder that a hallmark of the early church was the practice of hospitality, the sharing of their table? See long before the church had pulpits, she had tables. And the invitation to meet Jesus often started with "Wanna do lunch?" Or in this case breakfast.But before we get to that campfire breakfast, we need to set the stage, put our souls in Peter's sandals and be reminded, that I'm not a loser if Jesus loves me. 

Send me a Text Message!For the next few episodes as we close our our Lent series, we are going to look at a few of Jesus' days between the resurrection and his ascension. In this episode it's that guy who has the nickname that kind of sucked but totally stuck. Doubting Thomas. How would you like to be remembered with that nickname for a couple thousand years? But Thomas' story is an excellent reminder that that quest for faith is sometimes difficult. If you have ever wrestled with doubts, and I have...then Thomas' story will encourage you and remind that...Jesus is ok with your doubts!

Send me a Text Message!From the earliest days of our movement, a greeting arose that was so meaningful. The early Christians greeted each other with the constant reminder that their story was not over and the best was yet to come. The one to initiate the greeting would say, "Christ is risen." The one responding would say, "He is risen indeed." From the very beginning, true Christianity has been a movement of the indeed. He has risen indeed. To those who say that the resurrection is just a metaphor; to those who imagine that after Jesus died, his disciples found  themselves still moved by his life and his teaching and at some point said, "Let's honor his memory by talking about him like he's still alive.  We say, "No he is risen indeed." Resurrection Sunday is an indeed day.

Send me a Text Message!As the story unfolds, it's Saturday. The disciples are in this in-between time; the  time in between hopeless and hopeful.  They don't know what's available so they aren't living like what's available is really available. It's life in the in-between.  Can you relate to that?  As a follower of Jesus do you ever feel like you are living life in the in-between? You're not quite hopeless, but not quite hopeful.  You believe in God, but a vital relationship?  Sometimes you put forth quite a bit of effort to be a good Christian, but it seems like duty and you're not sure God cares.You don't consider your life broken, but on the other hand, you hear these promises about abundant life and you wonder if you're missing something.  Sometimes we wake up to find ourselves in the in-between life and we don't even know how we got there but more than anything else we want to know how to move on. Are you living life in the in-between? 

Send me a Text Message!The cross is the ultimate, blow-out love-burst of God. Think about it. From the eyes of heaven, the resurrection was no big deal. Do you think the angels of heaven  waited with bated breath to see if God could raise Jesus from the dead? Were they surprised that the creator of life could give life to the bringer of life? In heaven's  eyes the resurrection might have been a bit ho-hum. But the cross? "O my God,"they must have whispered in the halls of heaven, will he really do it? Does he love them...all of them so much that he'll climb up on that tree and take all the sin and shame of the world upon himself and experience their loneliness and brokenness. Does he love them that much?And the answer was yes.

Send me a Text Message!Thursday of the last week was the very first communion in the history of the world! So in this episode we have a very simple focus on communion. This mini-drama set in the context of the Passover (a great celebration of deliverance) remembers, celebrates, even revels in the death of Jesus. That's what communion is all about; we proclaim the Lord's death. We celebrate Christ Crucified.  I'll be honest, part of me cringes when I put those three words together. Celebrate  -- Christ -- Crucified.  It is a mysterious wonder that they could be put together and still have meaning. But they do, such a deep meaning that transformed the foundations of reality. Are we ready to celebrate Christ crucified?

Send me a Text Message!Who was Judas? Well he was chosen by Jesus. When Jesus was putting together his inner circle, when he stayed up all night praying, asking the Father who should the twelve be, Judas was in his mind. He must have been trusted at least to some degree by Jesus. I mean he was the treasurer; he was in charge of the team's money.And I believe that Jesus loved Judas. He washed his feet. He showed Judas the full extent of his love. Yet, despite being chosen and trusted and loved by Jesus, Judas betrayed him. How is that possible? How do you hang out with Jesus for three years? See what he did and meet how he healed and listen to the voice that calmed the storm, and heard him teach? How do you meet with face-to-face, sit next to Jesus at the table…and then after all of that turn around and betray Jesus? All I can say is that I don't want to be Judas!

Send me a Text Message!When Jesus died on the cross, the viel in the temple, which kept everyone away from the very holy presence of God, that curtain was torn in two. We've all thought that the message in that moment was "Come. You're invited. Come into God's presence." But what if God tore the curtain in two as a way of saying, "I will not be put in a box. Walls cannot contain me."  That could change everything.Do you understand? Since the resurrection, any place can be a sacred space, because Christ is let loose and His presence brings the sacred to every space He touches. There is no box that can keep God in!

Send me a Text Message!The four gospels are basically biographies  of Jesus, but unlike most biographies you've ever read, the gospels pretty much ignore the first 30 years of Jesus' life. They dive into his last three years, but of his last three years, about 1/3 of the pages of the gospels are dedicated to his last week. Sunday to Sunday. 8 days. Apparently the people who knew him best felt we could not get Jesus if we don't get this week in his life. What happens in these eight days is the hot burning  center of his life. So here is what we are going to do for the last episodes of this Lent-series. Each episode will land on a story, an event, a truth from that day of that week. Which means that maybe, I'll even do In-between Saturday and Resurrection Sunday. If you want Palm Sunday go to our youtube page youtube.com/calvarycwow. That was my message for this weekend. But for Holy Monday...we're talking about the problem with sacred places!

Send me a Text Message!Spread throughout John 14-17 (which begins with the words, "you will have trouble") are these amazing prayer promises that center around the word, "whatever" -- like "Whatever you ask for in my name, God will give it to you." Whatever. Whatever you ask. You're probably thinking, "Wait a minute Dan, we've got to be careful how people take a verse like this. It's like we want to protect God's fragile reputation. We don't want people to have unreasonably high hopes in God. And I know, it's not like life was easy with Jesus. Not every ending was happy. There was trouble, hardship. But let me simply tell you, prayer matters to God. If it didn't matter to God, Jesus wouldn't say, "Whatever you ask." 

Send me a Text Message!You will have trouble! Jesus made it clear that this is normal. You will have trouble  in the world. All kinds of trouble. You're going to go through circumstances that will cause doubt and fear. You will lose friends. The world will hate you and people will persecute you. The enemy of your souls, the prince of this world is coming and there may be opportunities for you to lay down your life for your friends. There's going to be trouble, but listen... We often find trouble just before we get to a breakthrough. Right? It's always darkest before the dawn. Difficult times are a catalyst for spiritual growth. You will have trouble, but...breakthrough is coming! 

Send me a Text Message!We live in neighborhoods filled with people in need of hope. And I believe that somewhere within us is a desire, a stirring to make a hope-filled difference in our neighborhoods, our schools, our workplaces, all throughout our communities. At least in part, I hope that's why you are listening, and I hope that along with that stirring in your heart to make a difference, you have at least a suspicion that you can't do it on your own. That perhaps like the early church we are better together. That's what this episode is all about. I have a deep conviction that not only are we better together, but that actually we cannot accomplish all the dreams on our hearts, if we do not constantly and consistently aim our lives and our churches toward the dream of Christ's heart. What is His dream? Well the dream on Christ's heart is the prayer on his lips!

Send me a Text Message!Years ago, when speaker of the house Sam Rayburn heard he had terminal cancer, he shocked everyone when he announced he was going back to his small town in Bonham, Texas. People said to him: "We've got the finest facilities here in D.C., why go back to that little town?" Rayburn's response came from his deep desire for community. He said, "Because in Bonham, Texas, they know if you're sick, and they care when you die." Perhaps some things are even more important than the finest medical facilities. If no one cares, you're truly alone. So who cares?In this episode we'll start where most good things start, with Jesus. Because the  more we get to know Jesus...the more our hearts get saturated with the undying reality that Jesus Cares. In fact, Jesus not only cares for us, he cares that we care. 

Send me a Text Message!How do you measure greatness? Whether it's for a country, a business, a community or perhaps even more importantly for a person, for you and me. How do we measure greatness? What does glorious greatness look like? How do you recognize it?  We may have different pictures of greatness in different fields. So how do you measure greatness?  To what greatness do you aspire? That's easy for me, I want to be a great dad and a great husband.  I want to be a leader of a great movement that touches people so profoundly, that whole cities are transformed. I want to go on glorious adventures...be involved in great missions to love people all the way to Jesus.But is there a glory, a greatness that superseeds all other categories? That's the question we're asking in this episode. The true essence of greatness is...?

Send me a Text Message!Henry Blackaby said that "A love relationship with God is more important than any other single factor in your life." Did you live your day or your week as though your relationship with God was the single most important factor in your life? Listen, the witness of the church is so intimately related to the manifest presence of God, that without it, the peoples of the world cannot and will not, believe. And that's what we have...the presence of God. Moses was a man who had experienced the power of God in ways most of us could only dream about.  But he was also a man who knew His God; they talked together face to face as a man would with a friend. And when the time came for Moses to choose between the presence of God and the power of God, it was no contest. So the question is...do I value His presence over His power. Am I God's friend?

Send me a Text Message!In the permanent record of his words, God has told us time and time again that He loves us. And He has used a variety of illustrations in the hopes that one of those stories would resonate with the deepest chords of your heart. But every story, every illustration, every metaphor was simply a pre-view of the real deal...the cross. Can you imagine the courage it took to love so deeply that you would walk the path of the cross? It's a courageous love; the kind of love that will go to bat for you even when it costs; the kind of love that won't walk away when it's hard and scary; the kind of love that will even be willing to die for you...The story of God involves a cross.

Send me a Text Message!God is calling you to go all-in, because that's how he loves you...with all His heart. What God asks from you is what He gives to you, His whole heart. God is all-in. His heart burns for you! This holy, sovereign, high and exalted, God is all-in for you.  Even when you are undone by your failure, you have all of his heart. He didn't choose you because you've got it all together. He chose you because He loves you and He loves you just because. Whatever your track record is, if you are willing to fully surrender to God, then he'll use you to make a difference in your world. You become eligible to be a hero in God's story, the moment you surrender. He is for you, with all His heart! 

Send me a Text Message!Are you on fire for God? Make no mistake, the fire of God will look different in thehearts of different people. For some people being on-fire for God will cause them to be God's greatest cheer-leader; for others on-fire will bring a steely-eyed courageous love that sacrifices and surrenders for someone else's good. For some the fire of God will bring a mysterious smile in the midst of hard times; for others it's tears every time their heart brushes up against His presence. It will deepen our prayer lives and cause us to truly love our neighbors, even those who are our enemies. I can't answer this question for you...because your heart has a different shape than mine, so we each need to answer the question for ourselves...Have you ever been on fire for God?

Send me a Text Message!In this episode and the next we are going to look at a prayer in Isaiah 64. It's a corporate prayer of lament, but it's also my Easter-Prayer. You know I think it's difficult to grow in prayer, if the prayer "God we need you." isn't always at the center of our hearts and on the tip of our tongues. In fact O Hallesby in a classic book on prayer says, "Listen my friend your helplessness is your best prayer. It calls from your heart to the hrt of God with greater effect than all your uttered pleas."But helplessness is not our preferred state of life, is it? Acknowledgment of our helplessness is not our habit. We would much rather be busy than helpless. We embrace busyness because busyness is all about what we can do, what we need to do, what everyone expcts us to do...maybe even what we do pretty well.But what if our helplessness, the kind of helplessness that would cause us to dive into prayer like it was necessary and urgent, what if that kind of helplessness would lead to the life-burst of God? That's my Easter-Prayer!

Send me a Text Message!At Calvary (my church) every fourth Sunday is CWOW Sunday, church without walls. Rather than going to church, we go out to be the church. You know we call Sunday morning a worship service. We sing and we pray. We listen for a word from God to our hearts and we experience God's presence in many different ways. We call it a worship service. But in this episode I will suggest another term, another way to worship. Rather than just going to a worship service, what if we participated in service-worship? Service in the name of Jesus, serving people with the love of God is real worship. Instead of just saying, I worship you. We show that we worship Him. Generosity can be a simple, profound act of worship! 

Send me a Text Message!Mary had this opportunity that I don't have to give an extravagant gift to Jesus, face to face, to see his expression of gratitude. I have to be honest, I'm kind of  jealous of this woman who has been remembered for centuries as someone who was so crazy in love with Jesus, that you cannot talk about the good news with out talkng about her. I would love Jesus like that, if I had a chance. I tell myself, "Jesus would not go hungry or thirsty in my town."  I tell myself, "Jesus would have a place to live in my world."  I tell myself, if I had anything to say about it Jesus would be taken care of...but Jesus isn't around anymore. I tell myself.But what if He is? What if the story Jesus is telling is just a figurative life-principle but a spiritual reality? Then I have to ask myself, "She was crazy in love with Jesus, am I?"

Send me a Text Message!When it comes to living God's dream for our lives, the journey to become  someone great, a true follower of Jesus; sometimes we focus so much on the process, all the stages that we have to master, all the different things we have to learn to  do right, that we lose sight of the motivating passion that inspires us to keep going no matter how many times we fall & fail. Our motivating passion gives us no other choic, something inside just won't let us stop. I think we begin to find that motivating passion when we ask the question, "Will Jesus remember me?"

Send me a Text Message!We've all felt the emotion of urgency, right? That sense that smthng needs to be done right now. Somethings gotta change. Can't wait. It's urgent. Sometimes we get confused about the difference between what's important and what's urgent. We often hear people say, something like this, "Sometimes we get so wrapped up in  what's urgent that we have no time for what's important." But what that really means is that we have mislabeled what's important. The dictionary defines urgency as something of importance requiring swift action. In other words, urgency is a subset of what's important. It can't be urgent, if it's not important.Any number of issues in our world today could cause a sense of urgency. But I think Jesus is suggesting in this episode that nothing is more important or urgent than love. So let's love urgently!

Send me a Text Message!In Matthew 25, Jesus tells a story about a rippled of generosity that travels all the way to His heart. You might think that it would take a really big act of kindness to ripple that far. But actually, it's pretty doable, it's a small act with a massive impact. Because when you do it, you are doing it for Jesus. In fact, that person in need, that person living in the margins of life, may be the only Jesus you see today!And whatever you do, this Lent Season, don't miss Jesus!

Send me a Text Message!Our eyes are often drawn to what we think are the great events of our day.  We imagine that God only manages his world through the great events. But when we read His story, we can't help bu see that His plans often begin with a baby. When the gospel needs to go out; when a country needs to be liberated; when a song needs to be song; or a book needs to be written; or a medical breaththrough needs to occur; God sends a baby to do it. Is it any wonder that when the world needed to be saved, God came as a baby. But like a rock dropped in water, that baby started a ripple of generosity and kindness, a ripple of grace and power, a ripple of heaven on earth that changed the world. And if we let Jesus start a ripple in our lives, it will become a ripple that changes those around us.Let's start a ripple of Jesus!

Send me a Text Message!In today's scripture we are going to listen to some incredibly amazing, generosity promises. Promises like: whoever sows generously will reap generously; and God loves a cheerful giver; and God is able to bless you abundantly, so that in all things at all times, having all that you need, you will abound in every good work; and you will be enriched in every way so that you can be generous on every occasion. Great promises, but again the question is do we trust God? Do we trust God's words? I'm going to give you a couple of great stories of the trust that leads to generosity, but I'll simply say this,I hope after listening to this episode, there is a stirring in your heart to be outrageously generous!

Send me a Text Message!You know I look around in central PA, and it's not just here, I hear of stirrings in other places as well. I think Jesus is getting ready to bring his church into a new season; a season of seeing His Kingdom come in new ways; a season of making a serious difference in the world around us. It won't happen without prayer and breakthrough prayer is almost always connected to fasting. But Isaiah 58 reminds us that fasting and prayer isn't enough. In fact, Isaiah reminds us that while we won't make a difference if we don't pray, our prayers won't even be heard if we don't care about the people around us. But if we care, then a new day will come and you can barely imagine a life like the one Isaiah 58 says is coming!

Send me a Text Message!Here is a good Lent question, "Does God really care?" Do we matter to God? I think many of us today struggle to believe that God is father who loves to bless his kids. It's the issue of trust right? Can I trust Jesus? Can I trust God? Or do I need something to hold over him, so that he will respond to me? Do my prayers matter to God? I think one of the reasons we pray is because we care. Right? I mean how many of us spend a lot of time praying for stuff we don't care about? But I think the fact that I care will not sustain my prayers. I need to know that He cares. Because if God doesn't care, prayer doesn't matter. Right? So we ask the question in this episode, "Does God really care?" And if he does, what does he care about?

Send me a Text Message!In Mark 4:1-20, Jesus is telling a story of growth and harvest. Actually it is a story of uncommon growth and harvest.  In those days, maybe a 10 fold yield was common. Jesus goes all the way to a 100 fold yield. And then he turns his story into a parable about life. A story about letting God's Word take root in our hearts for a great life breakthrough. Because in the Kingdom of "something more" there is something more to you than you see. But here's the deal, it's not ultimately about seeing it. It's actually more about hearing it. In Mark 4, Jesus may be giving us the foundational quality of those who engage life and find a 100x return. They listen. They have ears to hear and hearts that pursue the words of Christ. Who wants a 100x return on life?

Send me a Text Message!The apostle Paul knew a bit about causing suffering and going through suffering, and 2 Corinthians 4 contains one of his most encouraging words. He begins and ends with the words, "So don't lose heart." I know, in those times when it feels like we're fighting for every breath; looking at the darkness around us, maybe even in us, we might wonder is there any good news? Should I even keep going? Paul says, Yes. Don't lose heart." Because listen something is happening deeper than you can imagine. God's at work shaping a glory in you that will cause all of creation to stand and cheer. He's actually drawing closer than you can fully experience. In the battle, in the mess, in the hard, that's when you start to see his fingerprints all over your life. So don't lose heart! Don't quit. Don't give up. The best is yet to come. Don't lose heart!